Valkyrie Cain: The Dark Side Of Love
by ToryTigress92
Summary: Nefarian/Valkyrie. Warning: this ain't gonna be pretty. He tortured her, manipulated her and hated her. She hated him with a passion but that didn't matter. Because Nefarian Serpine and Valkyrie Cain were in love.


Skulduggery Pleasant: The Dark Side Of Love

**Because I am in love with Nefarian Serpine.**

**But I warn you now, don't expect a happy ending, or sweet fluffy stuff.**

**I mean it.**

**Going to be an oneshot at first, but will expand eventually into multi chapter, when I actually have time. A Levels are a killer! **

* * *

**Introduction:**

I'm sure we need no introduction to the players in our little tableau.

One, the infamous and deadly Nefarian Serpine, powerful Necromancer and Adept, and the murderer of Skulduggery Pleasant's wife and child. He was once the right-hand man of the evil sorcerer Mevolent.

Seven years ago he was destroyed by the Sceptre of the Ancients.

But how can you kill something which is already dead?

The second player is the nineteen year-old Valkyrie Cain, formerly Stephanie Edgely, and a powerful Elemental and Adept. Her magic has not yet settled, and so she flits between Necromancy and Elemental magic, her power growing by the day.

These two have crossed swords before, and they would continue to for decades afterwards, at least in public.

In private, started the most dark and twisted love affair in the history of magic and its peoples.

If you want a happy ending, or a sweet love story, then look away now. I mean it, turn away, press the back button, and find something else to read.

This is a story of obsession, and darkness, and power. It is a story of hatred and torture and death.

It is a tale of the dark side of love.

And I, the daughter of Nefarian Serpine and Valkyrie Cain, bring it to you now, so none may forget it.

Here follows the dark and tragic love affair of two of the most mismatched mages in history.

It ain't gonna be pretty.

* * *

"I must be insane," Valkyrie Cain murmured beneath her breath, as she stepped into the elevator, and her hand hesitated over the button for the top floor.

She thought back to the message she'd received, a week ago.

She remembered the days and days of torture, the endless hours of pain extracted from her body by his red hand, every time she fought him, every time she refused to give in.

The slow march of insanity. The breaking of spirit.

The knowledge she had gained, the long nights learning of necromancy at his side, all its dark secrets became hers.

Valkyrie's gaze drifted to her ring, the outlet of her Necromantic power. She sighed, as she pressed the button for the top floor.

He was supposed to be dead. She had seen it happen before her very eyes, at the age of twelve, after her uncle Gordon was murdered. She had seen, through a haze of pain, as Skulduggery Pleasant had used the Sceptre of the Ancients against Nefarian Serpine, and his green eyes had stayed on hers until they had disintegrated.

Until the Necromancers brought him back.

His glittering green eyes had been the last she'd seen, when she went to sleep, the night before she was rescued. The next morning, she had awoken to stare into the empty holes of Skulduggery Pleasant's skull.

He had saved her, healed her but the marks of Nefarian Serpine could not be erased so easily.

She could still remember the boiling hatred that infused her soul, which translated so quickly into physical desire, a desire to control and dominate the man who had killed her uncle, and almost driven her insane.

She wanted him at her mercy, and that was why she told no one of the note he had sent her, that was why she was betraying everyone she ever loved to come to him tonight.

"Now I _know_ I'm insane," she muttered, as the elevator rushed up to the top.

* * *

_Nefarian Serpine smiled superciliously as he felt the approach of Valkyrie Cain. Her magic called to his, as both stemmed from the magic of death._

_The very intoxicating music of her magic called to him, the Last of the Ancients, and he shuddered from her siren song._

_He clasped his hands behind his back, his red right hand covered by a black leather glove._

_Soon._

_She would be here soon. He'd known, when he had sent that note to her, that she wouldn't stay away. She wouldn't betray him to the skeleton detective, or to the Sanctuary._

_When the Temple had resurrected him, he had wanted nothing to do with them, but now he was glad he had taken up the challenge of taking, teaching and turning Valkyrie Cain. _

_They believed she was their Death Bringer, potentially the most powerful Necromancer since Lord Vile. Maybe she was._

_Skulduggery Pleasant believed, the fool, that she was his partner and faithful sidekick._

_She was so much more._

_The pathetic Fletcher Renn had long since realised she was never his._

_Valkyrie Cain was _mine_._

_The thought made Nefarian Serpine grin with sadistic pleasure, as his hands tightened in their embrace._

_Soon._

_He was very glad he hadn't succeeded in killing Valkyrie Cain all those years ago._

_He stared out at the rainy night, and waited._

* * *

Valkyrie stepped out of the elevator and strode along the corridor towards room one-oh-one. As she walked, the capes of her leather greatcoat flapped around her ankles.

Seven years had seen a visible change in Valkyrie Cain.

The few traces, and there hadn't been many, of baby fat on her slender physique had been burned away, becoming that of a warrior.

Strong, sleek and hard.

Her long dark hair fell around her face, shielding her deep green eyes as she checked the location of her small handgun and magazines. She didn't use it often, preferring to use magic, but it came in handy in close quarters for her to just suddenly whip it out.

It was a 9000 S automatic pistol, slightly larger than Skulduggery's Smith and Wesson, but it packed a bigger punch and didn't run out of bullets as quickly..

It was tucked into its holster on the back of her belt, hidden by her leather overcoat.

Her clothes had been made by Ghastly Bespoke, the best tailor around. They had saved her life countless times already.

She was a far cry from the fiery, albeit naïve kid Skulduggery had saved from a kleptomaniac fire-proof goon seven years ago.

They called it Stockholm syndrome, she mused, what had happened to her.

All that was needed was two things. One, a victim who was young, sexually inexperienced, and naïve.

Two, a powerful kidnapper, skilled in torture and manipulation.

Something snapped in the victim's mind, and suddenly the captive falls…

Valkyrie cut off that line of thought determinedly, as she stopped outside the door of room one-oh-one.

"Ready, or not, here I come."

* * *

_Nefarian sensed her presence, sensed her right outside the door, and her defiant words._

"_Ready or not, here I come."_

_His thin lips lifted in anticipation._

* * *

She pulled out the key card from her back pocket, and inserted it into the door. It opened soundlessly.

She knew why Serpine had chosen this hotel. Whilst luxurious and well-kept, it was also very secret and had a very specific clientele.

Recently, she had put many of the usual customers in jail.

Inside, the room was dark and silent as she walked in. she could dimly make out the line of a glass table, and black leather couches, before a flash of lightning lit up the room.

Directly across from Valkyrie was a large bay window, draped in some nondescript material, and standing in front of it, hands held behind his back was…

"Serpine," Valkyrie breathed, as the door swung shut behind her. Slowly he turned to face her, and his evil smirk was lit up by the lightning of the storm outside.

"Valkyrie Cain," he replied, in an equally quiet voice. He was clothed in the same dark suit Valkyrie had seen him in last, and his black hair gleamed in the scant light. It fell on his austere features and thin lips, reflected the glittering emerald of his eyes. "So you came after all."

"You knew I would come, so quit playing games, Nefarian," Valkyrie snapped irritably. He smiled mirthlessly, and began to walk towards her.

"Oh but I love games. Do you remember all those games we played? All those hours I would spend, touching you with this?" he held up his gloved right hand. "Making you cry out, until you begged for death?"

"As if I could forget," she snarled, stepping forward and whipping her 9000 S out and levelling it at his head. "Nefarian Serpine, I am arresting you on charges of murder, kidnap, extortion, torture and ohh…I don't know being an annoying sod all the time?"

He sighed. "Again with your little toy, Valkyrie. Skulduggery has rubbed off on you far too much."

"Are we going to have to do this the hard way, or the easy way?" she asked, gathering her power and summoning a fireball into existence.

"I do prefer it hard…and rough," he raised one eyebrow, and she fought down a shiver to ignore the innuendo.

"Have it your way," she muttered, squeezing the trigger on her gun at the same time as he stalked towards her.

"I intend to," he breathed, gathering purple vapour in his palm and throwing it away. She ducked and jumped aside, as the cloud of vapour hit a vase behind her and smashed it. Valkyrie brought her gun up and took aim, her bullet impacting in his chest, directly above his heart. He looked down at it superciliously before glancing up at her.

"Ow. That hurt," he sighed sarcastically, before flinging out a tendril of purple vapour and yanking her gun away. Valkyrie summoned a fireball and threw it at him, but he waved it away lazily.

"Losing your touch, Valkyrie," he murmured, and she narrowed her eyes at him. Drawing on her Necromancy, she flung a cloud of shadows at him, which he met with one of his own.

At the same time, unable to disable the other, they dispersed the shadows and circled each other like a pair of jungle cats.

"Seems we've reached an impasse, my dear," Nefarian smiled, pleased with her increased control and the power of her Necromancy. It had only grown since he'd let her go.

"Looks like we have," Valkyrie tilted her head to the side, as their gazes locked intensely. Shockwaves of heat began their torturous progress down her spine, and it made her shiver imperceptibly.

She fought down her impulses, as she continued to circle, making sure he stayed as far away from her as possible.

"Y'know, considering the amount of noise we've been making, I'm surprised we don't have the hotel proprietor knocking down the door," Valkyrie quipped, still unable to take her eyes from his. It was like staring down a snake.

One blink and you're dead.

Still watching her eyes, Nefarian gestured to the door. "Sound-Sealing charms on the doors, windows and walls. So no matter how much you scream, no one will hear you."

Valkyrie looked at him askance. "Who says I'm going to scream?" she asked pugnaciously. "I think we can add arrogant, presumptuous git to that list of charges."

"I've missed your fire, Valkyrie. Nowadays, torture is just no fun without that smart tongue," he quipped, smirking now. Valkyrie glared at him, but that's when Nefarian seized his chance.

He whipped out a coil of purple vapour, and took her feet out from under her. She fell back with a grunt, and suddenly Nefarian was on top of her, pressing her down into the floor. Gathering all of her crumbling willpower, Valkyrie shoved him off of her with her Necromancy, using the shadows to pin him against the wall. The next second she was up, and clipped one half of a handcuff around his wrist, blocking half of his power.

He glanced at his wrist, before smirking lazily at her. "Sneaky, Valkyrie."

"I had a good teacher," she snarled, before she felt his knee jerk up, and into her stomach. She was thrown back, winded, and crashed onto the glass table. It collapsed beneath her, and she groaned at the feel of broken glass against her back. She would have bruises tomorrow morning.

Nefarian pushed away from the wall, stalking towards her prone form as she fought to get her breath back.

"Game over, Valkyrie," he murmured silkily, and she looked up at him, at his cruel beauty as he moved towards her, and felt something give way.

However there was something comical about the handcuff hanging from one wrist.

"Not yet it isn't," she snarled, kicking up with both legs, hitting him in the stomach. He was thrown back, through the air as Valkyrie scrambled to her feet, her hair askew and her cheeks red with exertion from their fight.

Nefarian landed splay-legged, one hand on the ground for balance, as he glared predatorily at Valkyrie. His black hair was deliciously dishevelled, his eyes glittering with lust and exhilaration, his elegant suit ripped.

Valkyrie was no better state, with her hair tangled around her face, and her face cut as she stood up shakily, shrugging off her greatcoat so he could see the corded muscles of her arms and the slim outline of her waist.

But he saw there the same lust and exhilaration as he felt. He stretched out his magic, felt it touch her wild, untameable magic, mingle and entwine with a shudder.

They strode towards each other at the exact same moment, their arms reaching and their hands grasping tired, sore flesh as they came together. Nefarian's mouth came down hard on hers, ripping away her wits, as lust roared through her.

He tasted dark and spicy, like some exotic herb, and she moaned into his mouth as his hands clutched her waist, hauling her harder against his slender body. She grabbed his arms, pulling him forward as she tumbled back, straight back onto the ruined table, and he landed atop her.

Their kiss only turned even more urgent, as if they wanted to absorb each other into their bodies through their mouths alone.

Valkyrie flipped him over onto his back, her hands trapping his hands above his head, as they continued to kiss roughly. She broke it, panting and dizzy, to sit up. Catching his eye, she caught the edges of her tunic and pulled upwards, taking it off.

Nefarian caught his breath.

She was beautiful. Her skin was silver in the flickers of lightning still crashing intermittently outside, as the storm moved on, her ruffled hair tumbling freely down her back. Her body was smooth and sculpted, the body of a warrior.

It was all his.

On the thought he sat up, bringing their torsos together where her hands rose to shyly tug at the buttons of his shirt while he shrugged off his jacket. Surprised, particularly after the last few minutes, he leant forward and captured her lips again, just as she stripped his shirt from him and her small hands glided over his moderately muscled chest. He groaned into her mouth and picked her up, walking her backwards until her back hit the wall. She groaned, whether in pain or pleasure, he wasn't sure but he kept kissing her heatedly.

Valkyrie felt the pain, but also felt the pure pleasure of his cold touch on her bare skin as she looped her arms around his neck, pressing against him. She felt his breath catch, before his hands moved from around her waist. They slid down her thighs to close around the back of her knees, as she caught her breath. A second later she lost it when he pulled her off her feet, and twined her legs around his waist. Valkyrie pulled herself closer out of the need to stay balanced, pressing her body against his.

Both stopped in their frantic kiss, hissing in pure pleasure, before Nefarian ducked his head and Valkyrie felt his cold lips on her neck, caressing and tugging at the sensitive skin.

Valkyrie moaned and leant her head back against the wall, her eyes closing in bliss as she felt his body stiffen against hers, their skin heating up so it felt like she was pressed against an inferno.

All coherent thought in both parties had long ceased to exist, all concepts of loyalties and sides dissipated. Valkyrie had forgotten she hated this man with every cell of her by now thoroughly aroused body, that he had tortured her, manipulated her and murdered her uncle.

Nefarian had forgotten that she was his mortal enemy, the sidekick of that pathetic skeleton, his student and his charge, had forgotten that the Necromancers would not be very happy if they discovered he had deflowered their Death Bringer.

None of that mattered anymore, all had been eradicated in the wave of desire that had washed over them, bar the need to keep touching, to keep kissing.

So when Nefarian shoved her down on the bed in the far room, Valkyrie felt nothing but a shiver of excitement and desire, every piece of clothing stripped, so nothing lay between them now.

Nothing but burning lust, and a dark love that had already taken possession of their souls.

Nefarian broke from Valkyrie's lips to hungrily kiss down her neck, loving it when she arched beneath him, desperately seeking more contact.

"I hate you, you know that?" she breathed, a coy smile playing over her lips. Nefarian glanced up from her abdomen, smirking arrogantly.

"Oh really? Well, my dear, the feeling is entirely mutual," he murmured, hissing slightly when her foot traced up his spine.

Liar.

Valkyrie smirked at the lie in both their voices, both unable to acknowledge it, as he loomed over her and took her mouth in a devastating invasion, one which made her toes curl.

Her nails bit into his shoulders and back when she felt him inside of her, her teeth gritted against the discomfort until it eased. Her green eyes locked with Nefarian's burning emerald ones.

Burning for her.

He leant down and kissed her tenderly, tilting her head up on the pillow until she broke the contact, crying out when he moved inside of her.

Who would've thought looking at the twelve year old Stephanie Edgely as she dangled from Nefarian Serpine's hand in the Repository of the Sanctuary, her leg broken and her vision hazed with pain, that one day a love would burn between them brighter and darker than any in the history of the world?

Romeo and Juliet ain't got nothing on this.

* * *

Nefarian woke up, hours later, a satisfied smile curling the corners of his thin mouth like a cat which had caught the canary. Until he noticed the conspicuous lack of Valkyrie in the bed beside him.

With a curse he swung his legs out of bed, swiping his trousers from the floor and sliding them on. Barefoot, he padded into the main living area, careful to avoid any pieces of broken glass.

It was still pitch black, but he could see her outline by the bay window, standing in her trousers and tunic, staring out at the rain.

Without a word, he walked up behind her and slid his arms around her waist, holding her close.

Content just to hold.

She leaned back into his embrace, her head nestling against his shoulder, her chest pushing against his arms every time she inhaled.

Neither spoke, for words were superfluous. Neither moved, content with the other's proximity.

They did nothing, but stared out at the rain, bodies and souls entwined.

Nefarian ducked his head and brushed his lips over her carotid artery, nudging aside her hair. She shivered, pressing back against him. "Come to bed," he murmured, his voice so quiet no-one but Valkyrie could have heard it.

She felt rather than heard his words, felt them sink into her soul, as they vibrated against the skin of her neck. Without a word, she turned around, her hand tracing the imprint of her teeth in his collarbone, where she had bitten down in ecstasy, her eyes riveted on his. They were so alike, a thought she could not have admitted, even to herself when she was younger, but she could now.

Nefarian saw the tears there, sparkling but unshed. Felt something unknown well within him. His left hand caressed her face tenderly, as he leaned forward and leant his forehead on hers. A strangled breath escaped her parted lips, as she closed her eyes.

"Come to bed," he repeated, gently and tenderly, like a caress down her spine. He probably hadn't meant it to be seductive but to Valkyrie it was more seductive than their rough passion had been.

So, without a word, she did.

And gave him everything, body, heart and soul.

* * *

_**Stockholm syndrome**__: a condition in which a victim, held for a long period of time, begins to identify with and exhibit sympathy and/or feelings toward their captor._

* * *

**Ok, like I said not going to be update until a) I have time and b) I get reviews.**

**Hope you like.**

**I think I'm the first person to do a Nefarian/Valkyrie, seeing as I haven't been able to find any, but if there are any good ones out there that you know of, just tell me.**

**Please R&R!**


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